Non-Formal Education and an Expanded Conception of Development. Program of Studies in Non-Formal Education Discussion Papers Number 1.

Grandstaff, Marvin

The major contention of this paper is that the emphasis in developing countries on non-formal alternatives to formal schooling can be related to a major reconstruction now underway of the concept of economic development. The earlier concept of development is defined as economic growth reflected in increased gross national product, principally through industrialization. A number of variables which need to be incorporated, however, are left out of this economically based model: humanitarian and survival needs, nationalism, the growing aspirations of people in developing nations, the limits of industrialization, the role of rural development, employment as a problem and goal in its own right, and an imperative for decentralized planning. In the midst of crisis characterized by greater demand, higher costs, wastage in sequential schooling, and a growing educated unemployed, education must cater to the demands of modernization: basic literacy, manpower training, and a professional elite. The shortcomings that have required a new look at development and the shortcomings in education suggest a way of establishing priorities for implementing non-formal education. Special attention should be given to low-cost, short-duration, need-based, aspiration-accommodating, employment-linked, decentralized, and highly distributive education. Further, wider use of local resources, established oral traditions, and an immediate reward structure are features to consider. (JH)